Voyeur
by Mark Ryan
Summary: If presented all your desires in a nebulous contract, how might one respond? To ask the right questions, what kind of person might you be?


This is a short story I wrote imaging the interactions between Kyubey and a very inquisitive girl who gives him more than he bargained for. Essentially a response to the question: what if the contractors asked questions? What kind of person would that be? Anyways, this would spill out into more things but for now this is all there is. Enjoy!

* * *

Though she could easily enough have ignored the sounds rising faintly from below her window, the girl chose to acknowledge them. Restless – and curious – as she was, she rolled over on her side, her slim form lost in blankets. Frosty glass obscured her vision. Outside, a freezing moon peeked through the clouds.

Though there was no being sure, the two jacket-swathed blurs moving about one another became figures in an altercation. One, the larger, grabbed the arm of the smaller. The smaller pushed the aggressor off, turning about, long hair revealing itself beneath her scarf.

"It's a horrible thing to watch."

Frozen lazily, balanced on an elbow to peer down at the scene, Rin took the scant words thoughtlessly. The aggressor was closing again. Moonlight glinted off wielded metal. Shock struck the subjects face. Perhaps their observer merely imagined it.

"That's the way of the world. Injustice, suffering, and pain are all eventual, and there's so little that anyone can do to avoid it, to rebalance the equation."

The larger came upon the smaller and the two blurred into one. Half-heard protestations reached the window a ways above, where Rin laid silent and still in wide-eyed fixation. A rare moment of dreamy lucidity took her.

"You can change this, though. You have the power within you to challenge fate, if you have the will." The words were clear but came more as impressions through a veil of sleep.

"All it takes is a contract."

* * *

The atmosphere that mid-morning was still, frigid air stinging in its purity, breath misting in the air. As of yet, the path between the leafless, barren trees had not seen the touch of snow. The sun offered no warmth against the biting wind. A lone figure walked through this, small and slight, wrapped in coat. She trudged along, breath misting out from where she hid from the cold beneath her scarf, till she found a familiar place.

The turned about and sat unceremoniously upon the bench situated in the little indention into the trees. Blankly, she surveyed her surroundings. She loved to go that place, and it was her favorite time of year.

"You've given some thought to what I've said."

It was both a statement and a question, called from indeterminate direction, a high and light voice from a dream. Rin looked about for a source with muted confusion, and in moments noticed the white-furred creature that stepped from behind a nearby tree. Its simple appearance gave pause. It was primarily feline, but with long lupine ears hanging from inside its expected cat's ears and a bushy tail issued from its hindquarters. Furthermore, two golden-yellow rings or halos were suspended halfway down its ears. None of this came as much as a surprise as its staring red eyes.

The girl sat silent, mouth slightly agape, though obscured by her scarf. As the chimeric thing, a foot in height in perhaps half again as much in length, closed, Rin shrunk a little into the warmth of her coat.

"I know it's quite a bit to take in all at once," it offered, hopping up besides her, sitting on its hind legs. Rin gave it a doubtful, appraising look.

"Either I'm still dreaming," she said slowly in a gentle, quiet voice, "or this is actually real this time."

"This time?" the creature questioned, its cat's grin appearing somewhat amused. "Was last night any less real?"

"You're just making this more confusing," she said, her face returning to a signature smirk. Pausing a moment, she brought her prime question to light. "What are you?"

"I'm Kyubey," the creature chirruped simply. Rin nodded in acceptance.

"And what do you want?"

"To help you to form a contract," it said, "though it's less about what I want than what you want."

"Is that so?"

"Of course," Kyubey began, oddly professional in tone with its childish voice, "it's like I said. This is a world full of unhappiness. People make war upon one another and hurt each other, acting selfishly. Even beyond that, natural circumstances can lead to ruin. In the end, what can any person do to remedy that?"

Rin seemed to take this unaffectedly, her face carefully blank. Kyubey went on.

"I can, however, make miracles happen."

Rin hid her smile, pushing down her skeptical response. If she was willing to accept the cat-rabbit sitting beside her that spoke without moving its mouth, where would she draw the line? "Do tell," she encouraged.

"By contracting with me," the creature went on, "I will grant you one wish. In return for my service, your magical potential will be harnessed as you became a Puella Magi."

The incredulity on the girls face was clear this time, though Kyubey returned the stare blankly. "That's ridiculous," Rin said humorlessly. "Magic? Miracles? I don't believe in any of that."

"I know," it agreed, "but you should." Rin shrugged, now only amused.

"It sounds great and all," she went on, "but laughable." Kyubey's next words silenced her.

"Was what happened to that woman last night laughable?"

A minute twitch was all Rin gave in response. The scarf obscuring her mouth hid the rest.

"You watched a terrible thing happen. You watched a fellow human's life end, powerless to help. There was nothing a little girl like you could have done."

The girl's voice was very low. "That's right," she said, "I'm just one person, in the end." Kyubey took this initiative, leaning towards her.

"But you see, it only takes one. Just the _right_ one."

"A Puella Magi?" Rin ventured. Kyubey nodded.

"Yes. Someone with that sort of power can make anything happen. With magic, you could've helped that woman."

Helped her, Rin thought, where she had been so powerless. Where she had only watched the aggressor overtake her, go to great pains to cause her harm, and then finally end her. Rin had watched.

"… Perhaps others, as well…"

Rin remembered. There were others.

"Helped…?" Again it nodded.

"All it takes is a wish to seal the contract, and that's what you could be capable of." Silence overtook the two, as slowly Rin leaned back, her blank eyes retaking a certain gleam Kyubey could not quite place. Finally, she spoke.

"A contract has to have terms," she said, voice whimsical again, "and you haven't mentioned those yet, besides the wish and something about magic."

The creature's blank look did not shift and offered no response. Somehow, Rin sensed her unasked question had prompted a shift in context, giving those staring eyes an imposing gleam. The chimera's intense stare finally got to the girl, who looked away, laughing off the tension. "I'm sorry, I don't mean to sound distrustful."

"No," Kyubey said, "it's alright to be inquisitive. You _should_ be," it said, taking on a praising tone. "It's a dangerous job, not to be taken lightly."

"What could possibly hurt a Puella Magi, fighting with magic?" Rin mused, smirking. "Definitely not just any normal person."

Though she had been joking, the words carried unexpected weight. Rin looked away thoughtfully. "So then, other beings out there have magic, too?" Kyubey nodded, face still stuck in an imitation of happiness.

"How intuitive," it praised. "The duty of a magical girl is to fight witches, who sow despair in the world, and who can be just as powerful."

"How scary," Rin humored, somewhat serious. "I don't know if I have it in me to fight witches, or anything."

"I think you do," Kyubey said with a twitch of his tail, "or else I wouldn't be here."

This made Rin smile. She took a quiet moment to arrange the presented information in her head, and then spoke. "So I get it," she began thoughtfully, as Kyubey gave a reassuring nod, "when I make a wish, I contract to become a Puella Magi, and then I use my power to fight witches. That's pretty much it?"

"Essentially. When you contract, your magical potential is harnessed via a Soul Gem, which you will then on use to combat witches," he elaborated.

Rin blinked. "Soul… gem?" Kyubey nodded, missing the implied question. Or avoiding it, Rin thought. She pressed on cautiously. "Is the name literal or just, you know, for show?" The shift of tone between the two cast the little fluffy creature's façade in that strangely intense light.

"And," Rin went on, not waiting for an answer she was fairly sure she wouldn't get, "is the fighting witches thing part of the contract?" Itself curiously cautious in tone, Kyubey answered slowly.

"In a way," it began. "There is no real obligation to do anything, but defeating witches releases their Grief Seed, which can then be used to purify the Soul Gem."

"Which means the Soul Gem degrades," Rin quickly shot back, excited somehow at her discoveries. Silent again, that change in tone came upon Kyubey. The girl finally decided to approach a matter of concern directly, feigning embarrassment as she rubbed the back of her head. She took on a dejected slouch. "I'm sorry," she said, "I'm asking too many questions, huh?"

"No, questions are perfectly fine. I'm simply not used to being asked so many. Generally people contract off the bat." It seemed to sigh.

"Guess I'm a little slow on the uptake, huh," Rin offered with a smirk. Kyubey said nothing. "Is it okay if I go on?"

"Of course."

"The Soul Gem gives a Magi her power, and it degrades so it needs to be purified with a Grief Seed," Rin continued, responded to with nods. "And that means a Magi weakens after a while without using a Seed."

"Right," Kyubey agreed, "hence the need to fight witches. Who otherwise," he added pointedly, "feed on the sorrow they cause in populaces." Rin quickly nodded but then quickly shot back.

"Soul Gem is more than just a name. It would be foolish to use 'soul' if it didn't mean something." Kyubey stuck with silence, and Rin smiled wider and tried again from another direction. "What does the 'soul' part of the name mean?" To its credit, Kyubey wasted no time to respond.

"It is a container for the human soul, which allows for the harnessing of magical potential." Rin went on, proud of herself for revealing this information.

"What happens to a body without a soul?"

"The body is merely a vessel. Without the influence of a Soul Gem, the nervous system completely shuts down, rendering the body immobile."

"So it dies," Rin said, surprised. Kyubey nodded. "And if the Soul Gem really has a soul in it, having it degrade doesn't only mean you lose power, but also…"

Rin fell pensively silent and smiled wider. It was then Kyubey placed the gleam in her eyes that had been present for most of their conversation. She was calculating, _scheming_.

The girl gave the creature a curious, disappointed look as it hopped off the bench, padding away a little. It looked back, then.

"I don't think you're the candidate I'm looking for," he said. Rin raised a hand.

"Wait!" she said, apologetically. Kyubey thought Rin sounded genuine, for the first time. "Please don't misunderstand, I'm just trying to get all the facts – though I get why you'd hide them…"

"I don't hide them," Kyubey clarified. "I offer them when prompted." Rin shrugged in an I-get-what-you're-playing-at kind of way that Kyubey picked up on but could not understand.

"Okay, that's true. And I dunno if I have it all, but I think I've figured out the most of it."

"You seem like a smart girl," Kyubey said, turning to face her, "perhaps you _do_ have it all figured out." This made Rin smirk again, and not for the reasons Kyubey thought.

"I like you," she admitted, "and I'm sold."

If Kyubey were capable – of both the motion and the underlying emotion – it would've raised an eyebrow in surprise. "Few discover these facts, and rarely do they do so without experiencing them first hand."

"And if they did figure it out beforehand, we can guess people would never contract, huh. So I guess you look for specific 'candidates' so they don't look into it too far."

Just as Kyubey's face featured an unshifting, emotionless smile, the aforementioned creature now noted, Rin's face shifted only in ingenuine emotional displays. It had misread her. It said as much.

"You certainly aren't that candidate I was looking for," he began, "but you'll contract, won't you." It wasn't a question.

"Only if you answer one more question." Kyubey offered something akin to a permissive shrug. "Why?"

"That's awfully imprecise for one so clever," it shot back. As Rin opened her mouth to clarify, Kyubey rose a paw to silence her. "But contextually I'll assume you mean to ask 'why do you convince young girls to contract as Puella Magi to fight witches, who are in turn merely corrupted Magi themselves?" Rin nodded.

So Kyubey went on to tell her. And when he was done, Rin wasn't smiling anymore.

"I'll do it," she said simply.

"I thought as much," Kyubey chirruped, hopping back up on the bench. "All you need now is a wish." That brought back the smile.

"I know just the thing."


End file.
